Andrea
Marr – Sass & Brass (Blue Skunk Music)
A five-track EP with a title that may just be the most
concise three-word review ever written. I’m not sure I can better it, but here
goes…
Andrea Marr has been playing her blues since 1999 and
winning awards almost from the off. The Melbourne singer-songstress, together
with her band – this particular line-up has been playing together for five years
– have also been recognized internationally. The much-respected Chicago blues
label Blue Skunk Music signed them up in 2010, re-released their “Little Sister
Got Soul” album in 2011 and now the “Sass & Brass” EP.
It’s easy to hear why the label was so impressed.
Marr’s inherited a style that made Etta James a legend and Sharon Jones a cult
phenomenon. These five tracks leap from the speakers, grab the listener by the
lapels and force them onto the dance-floor; resistance is futile. The horn
section works in perfect harmony with Marr’s powerhouse blues-soul voice and
the songs themselves sound like a succession of classic hits, forged in the
Chess studios or Muscle Shoals, 30 or 40 years ago – or yesterday. It’s almost
pointless drawing attention to standout songs as there’s absolutely no filler,
just a selection of timeless, soulful, high energy, feelgood blues. If you’re
partial to any of the above names, or Ike and Tina or Aretha Franklin, then
you’d be foolish to miss out.
Rob F.
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